Quick Read
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Realty Income (O) maintained a 98.7% occupancy rate in Q3 2025 and has paid 665 consecutive monthly dividends.
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Aflac reduced outstanding shares from 918.8 million in 2013 to 525.7 million through aggressive buybacks.
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Southern Company benefits from AI-driven electricity demand at data centers and is pivoting to nuclear energy.
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Some investors get rich while others struggle because they never learned there are two completely different strategies to building wealth. Don’t make the same mistake, learn about both here.
You’d often hear that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to dividend stocks. However, that’s not really the case when it comes to Realty Income (NYSE:O), Aflac (NYSE:AFL), and Southern Co (NYSE:SO).
These dividend payers have exceedingly long track records of increasing their payouts, and their core businesses retain large enough moats to shrug off downturns and keep paying dividends to shareholders.
When you have a company with fantastic staying power, plus earnings growth that allows generous dividend increases practically indefinitely, it’s a good idea to make some space for it.
In any case, even a growth portfolio needs some ballast. And if your portfolio is centered around safe dividend stocks, it may be an even better idea to include these if you don’t already have them.
Realty Income (O)
Realty Income is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owns and operates thousands of commercial properties across North America, and it is also expanding into Europe. It may look contradictory at first: how can a real estate company be stable? But then again, it is no longer 2008.
Most REITs have learned from 2008 and are extra cautious. Realty Income, in particular, is arguably the most stable. This is because the company has other stable retail companies as its customers, who themselves are quite stable, rain or shine.
What’s more, Realty Income had an occupancy rate of 97% at the end of 2008. The occupancy rate is almost always above 98%, and it is currently at 98.7% as of Q3 2025.
Finally, but importantly, you get a forward dividend yield of 5.74%. Forward funds from operations of $4.27 per share comfortably cover the forward dividend rate of $3.23. Realty Income is a Dividend Aristocrat with 665 consecutive monthly dividends.
Aflac (AFL)
Aflac is a supplemental insurance and benefits company. While everyone has insurance for all sorts of things, very rarely does insurance take care of everything. Aflac can cover the extra cost when the insurer falls short. And there’s a unique twist: policyholders receive lump-sum payments they can use for anything.
This means they can use it for rent, groceries, or even travel expenses. This simple but powerful distinction has built a Fortune 500 company that insures one in four Japanese households and continues expanding its U.S. footprint with remarkable stability.
51% of its revenue came from Aflac Japan, and these customers are highly loyal to the company. 35.6% of its revenue came from Aflac U.S., and this is a growing customer base.
The company’s cash flow is predictable, and dividends are well-covered. But dividends are actually not the most positive element here. Buybacks are. Aflac has reduced outstanding shares from 918.8 million in 2013 to 525.7 million in Q3 2025. The 3-year average share buyback ratio is 5.5% annually.
As for the dividends, you get a 1.97% dividend yield. The 5-year dividend growth rate is 15.08% annually, and the payout ratio is just 29.91%. Aflac has increased its dividends for 42 consecutive years, meaning it’s less than a decade away from being a Dividend King.
Southern Co (SO)
Southern Co is an energy company that generates and sells electricity, and it also transports natural gas to customers. This is a hybrid company that gives you exposure to what is primarily an electricity producer (~75% of revenue), with a smaller midstream business (~17% of revenue).
Either way, you may be getting the best of both worlds as both midstream companies and electricity producers are great businesses to hold right now.
Electricity producers stand to disproportionately benefit from the AI build-out. Data centers are consuming massive amounts of electricity, and this is already causing price increases. Southern Co is pivoting to nuclear energy to take advantage of this.
In addition, the natural gas business benefits from natural gas being essential for the end consumer. Midstream companies are also outside the purview of tariffs, and any equipment cost increases are trivial.
If that’s not enough, natural gas pipelines are expected to see plenty of volume as there’s an ongoing energy export boom to Europe from North America. European countries are replacing the lack of gas flowing in from Eastern Europe with American and Qatari gas.
These windfalls have led to SO stock doing quite well in recent years.
You get a 3.25% dividend yield with 23 consecutive years of dividend growth. The company is just 2 years away from becoming a Dividend Aristocrat.